Wilson stays on pole for final Champ Car race

It's been a tough but rewarding week for Justin Wilson. Wife Julia gave
birth one week ago to their first child, daughter Jane. Jane was born much
sooner than expected, but she probably inherits her quickness from her dad.
Dad, meanwhile is at...

It's been a tough but rewarding week for Justin Wilson. Wife Julia gave
birth one week ago to their first child, daughter Jane. Jane was born much
sooner than expected, but she probably inherits her quickness from her dad.
Dad, meanwhile is at work in his "office", something called the McDonald's
car in Long Beach. Fortunately, Justin was able to run even faster today
than yesterday. So, in spite of a strong challenge from series veteran Alex
Tagliani, Wilson will be in P1 at the start of Sunday's Champ Car finale.

Justin Wilson.

Photo by Bob Heathcote.

"It's been an amazing week", said Justin. "I'm feeling on top of the world
right now and it would be great to seal it off with a win tomorrow. We've
got the confidence and the ability to win and that's my goal."

It has been announced that the race will also feature a standing start,
something that hasn't been done here since Formula One competed in Long
Beach in the 1980s. The drivers are determined tosee that Champ Car will go out
on a high note, with all the competitors saying they have something to
prove in this final race.

For Wilson, he is trying to live up to the standards of 4 time champion
Sebastien Bourdais, who now races in Formula One. And so it goes. Alex
Tagliani will start with Justin on Row One. Rookie Franck Perera will share
Row Two with Will Power, who has been very quick all weekend. Many of the
other starting positions were determined by mishaps on the track. Friday's
2nd place qualifier, Oriol Servia will start farther back in the field due
to causing a red flag early in the session. Other mishaps were attributed
to Mario Moraes, Roberto Moreno, and David Martinez.

Sunday's race is scheduled to start at 1 PM. It will be broadcast on ESPN2
on a same-day tape-delay at 2:30 PM Pacific Time.